Today’s edition of quick hits:
* It’s a new day on Capitol Hill: “Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was elected speaker of the House on Thursday for a second time, as Democrats took control of the lower chamber…. Pelosi, 78, won with 220 votes, with 12 Democrats voting for someone other than Pelosi and three Democrats voting present.”
* Someone apparently didn’t like Democrats getting all the attention: “President Donald Trump made a surprise appearance Thursday in the White House briefing room, congratulating Speaker Nancy Pelosi on taking back the gavel and predicting they will work together on substantial legislation.”
* Brazil opens a dangerous new chapter: “Newly installed President Jair Bolsonaro targeted Brazil’s indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community with executive orders in the first hours of his administration, moving quickly after a campaign in which the far-right leader said he would radically overhaul many aspects of life in Latin America’s largest nation.”
* The “glitch” isn’t over: “The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed sharply down on Thursday as investors digested some of the strongest indications yet that President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies are having a negative impact on American companies and the broader global economy.”
* The unfortunate irony of Trump’s shutdown: “Tens of thousands of U.S. immigration officers and agents are showing up for work each day to guard the Mexico border, where President Trump insists on putting a wall. But the government is shut down, so no one is getting paid. The paralysis in bank accounts extends to overburdened U.S. immigration courts.”
* Senate Republicans address a problem: “Freshman Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa will become the first Republican women to serve on the Judiciary Committee when the new Congress is seated this week, according to a roster obtained by POLITICO and confirmed by a Capitol Hill source.”
* This guy did accounting work for Trump: several years ago “Powerful Chicago Ald. Ed Burke has been charged with attempted extortion for ‘corruptly soliciting business’ for his law firm, weeks after federal agents conducted raids at his 14th Ward office and his finance committee suite on Nov. 29, and then again at City Hall on Dec. 13. The federal complaint was unsealed Thursday.” * Cool: “China’s burgeoning space program achieved a first on Thursday: a landing on the so-called dark side of the moon. The United States, the then-Soviet Union and more recently China have all sent spacecraft to the near side of the moon, which faces Earth, but this is the first-ever landing on the other side.” * Former Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) lost his re-election bid to Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.). This week, Brat became the new dean of the business school at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
